Automatic hammer safety for revolvers



Dec; 9., 1969 A- o. ZANCHI I AUTOMATIC HAMMER SAIi'E'TY FOR REVOLVERSFiled Feb. 8, 1968 m m TM 0 m R O BY W ATTORNEY United States PatentAUTOMATIC HAMMER SAFETY FOR REVOLVERS Admar Orlando Zanchi, PortoAlegre, Brazil, assignor to Forum Taurus, S.A. Industria e Comercio,Porto Alegre,

Brazil, a corporation of Brazil Filed Feb. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 704,108Claims priority, applicationBrazil, Aug. 7, 1967,

191,892 Int. Cl. F4lc 17/04 US. CI. 4266 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A safety lock for revolvers which can be installed withoutany modification of existing hammer or trigger mechanisms in certainmake revolvers. A two armed actuator plate is mounted on the hammerpivot and one arm engages the sear mechanism while the other arm engagesa slidable locking member in contact with the hammer. The locking membernormally blocks the firing pin from contact with a cartridge so if therevolver is dropped, accidental discharge will not occur. When thetrigger is squeezed, however, then the locking member moves away fromthe hammer to permit normal firing of the revolver.

The present invention, in general, deals with a safety mechanism forautomatically locking revolver hammers to prevent accidental discharge,and in particular is directed to an automatic safety lock for revolversof the .32 or .38 caliber Taurus type.

As is well known to all who handle revolvers, there is always a risk ofan accidental shot being fired when the gun falls to the ground, if theexposed upper end of the hammer should happen to strike against a hardsurface or object. For this reason, revolvers generally are equippedwith a safety lock to prevent the firing pin from making prematurecontact with a cartridge, which might be in firing position in therevolver cylinder. Thus, the gun is rendered safe by the presentinvention until necessary pressure is deliberately applied to thetrigger to detonate a cartridge.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple mechanismwhich offers an effective automatic locking arrangement for existingrevolvers in the sense that no changes are required in the originalmechanism itself, and it is particularly adapted for revolvers of theaforesaid Taurus type. In the arrangement about to be described, thesafety device operates with a minimum of friction in the normal handlingof the revolver when it is desired to detonate a cartridge. Also, thesafety device is slidably mounted wholly within the hammer chamberwithout any connection with the outer cover, and therefore there is nopossibility of the safety shifting laterally when the gum is cocked in afull or half-cocked position.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the hammer locking member, as applied toa Taurus .32 caliber revolver.

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of the hammer locking member shown inFIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the hammer locking memberin position to prevent the hammer from firing the cartridge except bysqueezing the trigger of the gun.

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the hammer locking memberwithdrawn from the path of the hammer to permit it to fire thecartridge.

FIGURES 5 and 6, respectively, show side and end elevations of thecontrol member for the hammer locking member as applied to a .32 caliberrevolver.

3,482,348 Patented Dec. 9, 1969 "ice FIGURES 7 and 8, respectively, areside and end views FIGURE 9 is a diagrammatic side elevation similar toFIGURE 3 showing the mechanism in locking position as applied to a .38caliber revolver.

FIGURES 10 and 11, respectively, are side and end views of the controlmember for the hammer locking member used in a .38 caliber revolver.

FIGURE 12 is a diagrammatic side elevation similar to FIGURE 4illustrating the hammer locking member in released position as appliedto a .38 caliber revolver.

In general the invention shown in the drawings is directed to a specialsafety unit to be housed within a cavity in the gun stock between thehandle and the cylinder in a manner to be readily incorporated in theassembly of a pistol or revolver of the Taurus type. In that connectionit may be pointed out that only slight changes are required in theinvention to enable the basic features to 'be readily applied to eithera .32 or .38 revolver. No substantive change is required in the assemblyto fit either revolver, and the entire unit is, in operation, simplyslidable between the side walls of the casing, without permanentattachment thereto.

As shown in FIGURES 1-6 illustrating a .32 caliber revolver, a hammerlocking member L has a shank 1, a laterally extending head or hammerstop member 2, an offset portion 3 at a right angle to the shank 1 and aleg 4 depending from the offset portion 3. It will be seen from FIGURES3 and 9 that the stop member 2 is blocking the hammer H by engaging anabutment surface 2' on the side of the hammer so that the firing pin Hcannot reach a cartridge (not shown). The leg 4 of the locking member Lhas a transverse groove 5 on its inner face which receives the nose 6 onthe end of one arm 7 of an angular control member or plate 8. Thecentral body portion 9 of the control plate 8 is of open circularformation as indicated at 9 and includes a radial slot 10 toconveniently mount it on the hammer pivot P at the time of installation.The downwardly directed arm 11 has a slot 12 at its lower edge whichfits over a pin 13 on the sear 14 which in turn is connected with thetrigger T by means of a link 15 pivoted on the body of the trigger. Therear face 16 of leg 4 of the hammer locking member L is slidable on thesurface of a wall 17 of the revolver housing, being urged against wall17 by nose 6 engaged in slot 5 and the relative positions of controlplate 8 and locking member L. Referring to FIGURES 4 and 12 when thetrigger i squeezed, the link 15 urges sear 14 rear-wardly which rockscontrol plate 8 in a clockwise direction causing the stop portion 2 ofhammer locking member L to slide downwardly away from engagement withsurface 2' of the hammer H, thus permitting the hammer to move forwardlyso that the firing pin H can strike and detonate a cartridge. Whenpressure on trigger T is released, the trigger returns to its restposition under action of a spring (not shown) and the stop 2 returns toits hammer blocking position as shown in FIGURES 3 and 9.

FIGURES 7-12 inclusive are illustrative of the application of theinvention to a .38 caliber revolver of the same make. In general, themechanism is the same as heretofore described, except for themodification of the control plate. As shown in FIGURE 10, for example,the control plate 8 has a central opening 10 and the nose 6' is smallerand medially located at the end of arm 7'. Also the slot 12' at the endof arm 11' is not as deep as its counterpart in FIGURE 5. These minormodifications facilitate the installation of the invention in a .38caliber Taurus revolver.

I claim:

hammer pivotally mounted on a shaft in the frame, a firing pin integralwith said hammer, said hammer operated by a scar and trigger mechanism,said safety device comprising,

a lock member including a body portion, a hammer engaging portion at itsupper end and a depending leg, said hammer engaging portion beinglaterally offset from one side of said body portion, said leg beingdisposed parallel to and spaced from said body portion and having anotch in one edge thereof, the opposite edge of said leg slidablyengaging a wall surface of said frame,

an angular control member pivotally mounted on the hammer shaft andincluding first means engaging the notch of said lock member and urgingsaid opposite edge of said leg against said wall surface, and secondmeans operatively connecting said control member to said sear,

said control member including a central body portion, said first meansof said angular control member comprising an arm extending angularlyfrom said body portion, the end of said arm engaging the notch from saidfirst mentioned arm, said additional arm having a notched end portionoperatively connected to said sear,

whereby, when the trigger is in its rest position said References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1910 Wesson 42-66 12/1912 Key 4259 12/1914Pomeroy 42-66 5/1949 Norman et al. 4266 11/ 1964 Lewis 4266 of said lockmember, said second means of said angular control member comprising anadditional arm extending angularly from said body and spaced 25 BENJAMINA. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner CHARLES T. JORDAN, Assistant Examiner

